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Saturday, 17 September 2016

Simplicity Cosplay and Alice in Wonderland Costumes

Simplicity has come out with a few new releases for fall, including some fucking stellar Star Trek costumes (check 'em out if you're a fan). I was just browsing their collections and came across another one of their attempts at Lolita. Now you may recall that I discussed their Rockabilly/Lolita hybrid (8127) in a post a few months ago. That dress pattern had been included with their normal apparel however this new pattern is listed within the costume category. These two new dresses are described as Cosplay instead of Lolita, although I'm hard pressed to identify what anime it's referencing. Also, there are some licensed Disney's Alice in Wonderland costumes which look nothing like anything from the animated film, instead they're more like that weird live action film with Whoopi Goldberg...

Simplicity 8233

Misses' Costumes

I can't help get the feeling they were trying their damnedest to make this girl appear as Asian as possible... What's with the "guh" look on her face? Is that supposed to entice us? It reminds me of soft core porn. The dresses look decent enough. I prefer the floor length dress because there's something about it that looks more balanced and refined. I'm really appreciative of the abundance of texture in both designs. I noticed the majority of the trim is pleated. I imagine without purchasing pre-pleated trim or owning a ruffling foot that would be a big bitch to tackle. Not a fan of the head piece. It looks like she's wearing a cake on her head. Overall it's not bad. Perhaps it wasn't refined enough to be considered apparel or maybe they felt it was too over the top? I still like 8127 a thousand times more but I'm curious to see how one of these dresses looks once sewn.

Simplicity 8237Misses' Alice in Wonderland Cosplay

When I saw these I assumed they were from the new Tim Burton film (which I've declined to see). Apparently they're Disney's Alice in Wonderland designs, they barely resemble the film they're referencing. The colours are there...but I don't think many people would make the connection to the classic 1950's animated film. Beyond the wigs, these costumes are actually rather generic and not too different from some of their out of print releases (i.e. Simplicity 4015, 2525 and 3685). I'm sure you could do better by combining a series of other patterns and end up with something more original.

Simplicity 8234

Misse's Alice in Wonderland Cosplay Costume

Masters of Cosplay artistry have come up with some jaw dropping interpretations of Alice in Wonderland. A simple Google search can yield hundred upon hundreds of Lolita inspired attempts at Alice. It comes as no surprise that Simplicity would resort to stealing someone else's design given that there are so many out there to choose from. I'm sure this designer would be thrilled to find a knock off of their work nestled within Simpilcity's catalog. That's shady. It's not that hard to come up with your own Alice in Wonderland costume. I drew my costume interpretations for the entire cast when I was in high school. I'd share them on here...but maybe Simplicity would nick them from me too... Overall, it's a nice looking costume but their un-originality pisses me off too much to like it.

Conclusion

I can't say I'm surprised to see them continue with Lolita/Cosplay costumery, however, I wish they had pushed the boundaries a little further. They seem too behind the times. Lolita and Cosplay have evolved far beyond these styles and I'd like to see something on trend. What are your thoughts?